NEWCASTLE United reserve-team coach Adam Sadler is hoping that his young side’s hard work in the last three weeks pays off in their first friendly of the season tonight at Newcastle Benfield.

The warm-up at Sam Smiths Park will see young guns like Ben Tozer, Kazenga LuaLua, James Marwood and Jonny Godsmark all attempt to nudge Kevin Keegan during a pre-season programme in which they are likely to get a chance due to limited numbers in the first-team squad.

And with a trip to Hartlepool United coming up on Saturday, Newcastle’s kids will be aiming to shine in order to win a place on the bus to Victoria Park.

Sadler said: “We’ve had the lads back in a week or so before the first team and they have worked very hard.

“Now it’s good to have a game to put that work to good practice.

“We’re looking forward to it. You can’t beat match practice and in Newcastle Benfield we’re up against decent opposition.

“It’s a good test and some of the lads played in this fixture last season when we won 3-2.”

The second string will also face tests at Gateshead and then a game at Kingston Park against Newcastle Blue Star.

But their FA Premier Reserve League campaign won’t commence until September 1, with a game against Sunderland at St James’s Park.

Sadler guided his team to a sixth-place finish in the Northern section of the reserve league last term, and also capped the campaign with a Northumberland Senior Cup victory over Blyth Spartans.

Sadler added: “It was nice to end last season with silverware.

“But although we all like winning, my main role is to provide players for the first-team pool.

“Getting a player into Kevin Keegan’s first team represents real progress.”

Sadler watched youngsters like LuaLua and Fraser Forster gain promotion to the first-team picture last term, while Andy Carroll also added to his first-team appearances since making his senior debut in 2006 in the UEFA Cup tie in Palermo.